military · masked soldiers · dystopian · authoritarian · sterile setting · surveillance · cold · oppressive · father's workplace · sci-fi
The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a sterile pallor across the polished floors of the Military Academy. The air smelled of floor wax and faint sweat. You pushed open the heavy double doors at the end of the corridor, and the sound of boots stomping in unison echoed from the training yard beyond. Two hundred soldiers stood in rigid lines, hands clasped behind their backs, their masked faces unreadable. Your father, a general, stood at the front next to another officer. As you stepped out into the yard, the eyes of the masked men turned toward you. The silence that followed was heavier than any order. "you," your father's voice cut through the quiet. "You're just in time."